As previously said, my paratroops experience was pivotal to give me self-confidence.
Here are some videos which can explain why. At 1.28 you go through the door!
Jump in operation from plane with all equipmentThen we came to Aldershot, paratroops exchange, did some training and more jumps.
The usual one from an Hercules and then 2
Jump from Chinook. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. My friend's face was green! But you know what, we just wanted to do it again. And we did!
Finally to get the British Wings, you needed to
jump from a balloon, a bit like bungee jumping without the elastic band and a bit higher than your usual bridge!
No noise and all the time in the world to see yourself going up in the air and face the drop before taking this high step down. And the last one mustn't forget to close the door !
The landing at 1.21 has to be seen. Remember a belly flop in the swimming pool hurts. At least, he is laughing !
But I believe all paratroopers will say the same, that was the easy part ! So we had to be fit and ready as you wouldn't know when and where you were going to rest next after touching (hitting sometimes) the ground.